Gaming executive and Thoroughbred owner J. Terrence Lanni ais joining the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's Board of Directors.
Lanni, 58, is chairman and chief executive officer of MGM Mirage, an entertainment, hotel and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas. He is a director of both Magna Entertainment Corp. and Santa Anita.
"Terry Lanni's acceptance of our invitation to join our board is a very large plus for Del Mar," said DMTC's president and general manager, Joe Harper. "We are bringing on board a man of vision and respect who will help us grow the positive image of the track. We are also getting a true fan of Thoroughbred racing."
Lanni, a native of Los Angeles, graduated from the University of Southern California with an M.B.A. in finance. He was treasurer of Republic Corporation, a national conglomerate based in California, when he signed on as treasurer and chief financial officer of Caesars World in Las Vegas in 1977. He eventually became Caesars World's chief operating officer and joined its board of directors in 1981. He served on the board until 1995, the year he was named to his current position with MGM Mirage.
Lanni has also been on the The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation's board of trustees, the Board of Overseers for the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and the Marshall School of Business Board of Visitors at USC.
He is a 50% partner in the high-class stakes horse Ladies
Din, who has won eight major races and more than $1.5-million. The horse was named Del Mar's grass champion last year and its Horse of the Meeting in 1998 when he swept the track's 3-year-old grass series. Lanni also is a 50% owner of the 1999 Breeders' Cup Mile winner Silic, an earner of more than $1.4-million.
He and his wife Debbie have two sons.
Lanni becomes the first member to join the DMTC board since Martin Wygod was elected in 1999. The now 11-member board consists of John C. Mabee (chairman), Harper, Rollin Baugh, Stewart Bowie, James Buell, Clair Burgener, Lanni, Warner Lusardi, Tom Stickel, Robert Strauss and Wygod.
